BlackRock has denied it is lining up a potential rival bid for beleaguered bank Credit Suisse.
“BlackRock is not participating in any plans to acquire all or any part of Credit Suisse, and has no interest in doing so,” a BlackRock spokesperson told Bloomberg.
The news comes after the Financial Times reported, citing five sources, the world’s largest asset manager has evaluated a number of options to acquire the Swiss giant.
Any bid would come up against UBS which is in talks to acquire its Swiss rival, a move that is being brokered by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and regulator FINMA in an attempt to build confidence in Switzerland’s banking sector.
Eddie Donmez, global markets analyst at Finimize, said: “I still think a large US bank could be a potential acquirer, should the UBS deal fall through.”
It has been a tumultuous week for Credit Suisse which was forced to borrow up to $54bn from the SNB amid concerns of a lack of liquidity.
The Swiss bank’s shares have dropped 75% over the past year, as at 17 March.
